PEORIA, Ill. – It’s official. What was once known as UnityPoint Health Central Illinois is now Carle Health Greater Peoria.
The merger of the two entities became final over the weekend, and Monday, it was time to celebrate.
“We’re committed to offering those we serve opportunities to access expanded care, added specialty care, and an increased array of life-saving technologies,” said Dr. Jim Leonard, CEO, Carle Health.
Names of the Peoria-area hospitals will not change — nor, Leonard says will salaries and benefits for local employees.
“We were able to pledge to our employees that, as we make this transition, your jobs will be in tact, your salaries will be in tact. We’ll bring your complimentary benefits. And, we’ve been able to make good on that. I appreciate our Carle colleagues doing so,” said Dr. Keith Knepp, president, Carle Health Greater Peoria. “We’ll be working together in coming weeks and months to decide when and what is the right time for wage increases.”
Insurance coverage for patients will not change either, said Knepp.
One thing that will change, Knepp says, is the level of care that will be available for specialty services.
“All of the basic — primary, secondary tertiary — care services are provided here in Central Illinois by Methodist, Proctor, Pekin. Many in Bloomington, many in Champaign-Urbana. I don’t know that we have any specialties that we’ll newly add, so much as we’ll add depth and sub-specialists to do that work,” said Knepp.
It was revealed a year ago that what was UnityPoint Health Central Illinois was exploring a merger of sorts with Urbana-based Carle Health.
But, the talk began much earlier than that.
“The discussion actually, at a high level, was probably about ten to fifteen years ago. I re-approached Keith, then, three years ago,. Next month was the first phone call. It took awhile,” said Leonard.
What made the change ideal now, Leonard and Knepp say, was a shared commitment to quality, and Carle’s other expansion geographically to other parts of Central Illinois.
The brand new Carle Health system now has eight hospitals, 1,300 doctors, and 16,000 employees.
